An arm as pale as jade rested against the edge of the bed, slender fingers holding a cigarette.
The smoke curling upward bent into messy lines with the force of the trembling rhythm, and the ash gathered at the tip of the cigarette scattered onto the floor after a muffled groan.
A light-brown palm slowly slid down along the well-proportioned arm, eventually reaching the fingertips to take the cigarette held there.
The fingers pressed down and dodged away. A slightly disordered voice mixed into the dense night. “If you smoke again, don’t fucking get into my bed.”
The large hand turned instead to hold that jade-white wrist, and Yan Ye’s dark, hoarse voice sounded beside his ear. “Master Xue doesn’t like it?”
“Cigarettes aren’t suitable for minors or idiots.”
Laughter blended into Yan Ye’s gentle voice. He flipped their positions and looked up at Xue Bao Tian from below, seeing him wrapped in moonlight, all radiant glow.
“My craving for cigarettes came up, and my mouth always wants to chew on something.” Yan Ye’s index and middle fingers held something as though holding a cigarette. “If Master Xue wants me to quit smoking, you have to block my mouth, right?”
Xue Bao Tian’s chest rose faintly. “You fucking…”
Yan Ye did not have many ways to handle Xue Bao Tian, but the ones he had worked. The white mist of the cigarette suddenly went into disorder, and Yan Ye calmly ordered, “Bring it here yourself.”
The corners of Xue Bao Tian’s lips pressed flat. Rarely, he looked a little wronged, yet there was nothing he could do. He could only slowly bend down, forcing himself to maintain his momentum. “I’ll fucking bite you to death.”
Yan Ye got what he wanted, and his satisfied voice was muffled. “Baobao, so good.”
The medicine-food homology project had already been implemented. Its economic benefits were accumulating slowly, while its social benefits far exceeded expectations. The health philosophy advocated by medicine-food homology, as well as its future development direction and economic model, stirred up a wide round of heated discussion in the pharmaceutical world. As the pioneer and explorer in this field, Xue Bao Tian was invited to participate in many forums and exchange events. This young helmsman, along with Ruixiang Pharmaceuticals behind him, became widely famous because of this move.
In the brightly lit auditorium, Xue Bao Tian wore a crisp silver-gray suit and stood on the main podium with the proud, cold elegance of a dawn redwood. His brows and eyes were clear and pale, carrying a slight chill; he was noble yet careless, speaking with ease and confidence.
There was not much rise and fall in his tone, nor was it filled with passion. His voice, like cold jade, spread throughout the auditorium, and precisely because of that, it seemed intellectual, rigorous, and extremely convincing. No one could tell that once he left the professional field, the person onstage was a genuine, guaranteed illiterate.
The unhurried voice suddenly paused. Xue Bao Tian’s gaze stopped at a corner at the very back of the auditorium. The sunlight outside the window fell on the auditorium wall in the rectangular shape of the window, and the tall man stood in that beam of light, smiling as he met his gaze.
After pausing for a while, Xue Bao Tian finally lowered his head to look at the script in his hand. His voice returned to normal, but the corners of his lips had curved by three parts, revealing a few traces of a smile.
The seminar was very successful. Xue Bao Tian shook hands with countless people, exchanged business cards, and discussed cooperation intentions, yet in the end, he was somewhat distracted. After finally managing to get away, he found Yan Ye beneath the jacaranda tree outside the auditorium.
In Jinguan City, even the wind was fragrant.
The drifting petals and the corners of their clothes tugged at Xue Bao Tian’s heart until it felt sore and soft. In thirty years of life, he had been like ordinary, overgrown wild grass, growing rough and dull. No one had ever treated him solemnly and devoutly, and no one had ever waited for him so earnestly like this. No matter how late, no matter how long, amid the swaying shadows of the trees, there was always that call wrapped in the fragrance of flowers: “Two Hundred.”
Xue Bao Tian lifted his smiling face, but there was mischief in it. “Why are you here? It’s good that you remember your identity as a grandson, but your etiquette doesn’t need to be that complete. Just come pay respects every few days. Would Master Xue blame you?”
Yan Ye deeply cherished Xue Bao Tian’s sharp-tongued way of speaking. Smiling, he pulled him under the shade of the tree and buried his head in the hollow of his neck to sniff him.
Xue Bao Tian looked around and pushed him. “In your next life, reincarnate as a dog. Master Xue will raise you and put a collar on you openly.”
The hand on his waist tightened, and the man’s breathing turned deep and chaotic. Xue Bao Tian, who had only sought a moment of pleasure with his mouth, suddenly regretted it a little. This dog thing lost control regardless of time or place, never caring whether people were still coming and going in the distance or whether these low-hanging flowers and trees could only conceal their upper bodies.
Just as Xue Bao Tian was about to coax Yan Ye not to go crazy, that dog thing straightened his back and took the initiative to pull some distance between them.
“Two Hundred.”
“Mm?”
“You’re amazing.”
Xue Bao Tian lifted his eyes and saw the direct love and admiration in Yan Ye’s eyes.
“Just now, when you stood onstage, you were shining.” Yan Ye lightly stroked Xue Bao Tian’s cheek. “I’ve always known you were amazing, and now everyone knows too. Xue Bao Tian is amazing and formidable. No one will ever look down on your opinions again, or throw your hard work into the trash can or paper shredder.”
He leaned down slightly and brushed aside the flower branch in front of Xue Bao Tian, as though pouring out the most heartfelt affection. “My Two Hundred is the best.”
The sunlight that day was no different from usual, shining on Yan Ye’s white shirt, yet Xue Bao Tian seemed to see something beautiful.
At that moment, he seemed to become someone who had lost the ability to speak. His tongue, always so quick and clever, did not know how to respond. He even felt a little afraid to breathe. The fragrance of flowers was too rich, and he seemed to already be drunk.
The increasingly rapid sound of his heartbeat was the only sound at that moment. The people coming and going in the distance, the noise and clamor, vanished into the stagnation and stillness of time. Xue Bao Tian, who had never been properly loved, only learned today that love smelled like jacaranda flowers.
“Come here. Master Xue will stamp you with a seal.” Xue Bao Tian hooked an arm around the back of Yan Ye’s neck and offered up his lips.
Occasionally, there was wind, shaking loose blue petals that fell on their shoulders and into their hair. Amid the flower rain, Xue Bao Tian came to another realization: so this was romance.
Just as he was losing himself, for some reason, Yan Ye suddenly pulled back a little and pressed a hand to the back of Xue Bao Tian’s neck, pushing his face into his broad shoulder.
After that, Xue Bao Tian heard Yan Ye’s cold, hard voice. “Who’s there?”
“Sorry, tying my shoelace. You two continue.”
A man’s voice came from the distance. It was somewhat muffled, yet indescribably familiar, especially that turned-up ending tone, which was not standard Mandarin pronunciation.
Xue Bao Tian twisted his head from Yan Ye’s arms and looked back. Sure enough, it confirmed his guess. “Fan Xiao.”
The man pretending to tie his shoelace stood up, parted the dense flower branches and leaves, and walked closer with a smile. “It really is the Crown Prince. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.”
Anyone could see that Fan Xiao’s whole face had the word “gossip” written on it, yet he spoke seriously, dragging the topic here and there. “Has the Crown Prince forgotten? I now have part of my business involved in pharmaceuticals. The organizers of this forum also sent me an invitation. Your sharing in the auditorium just now was wonderful. Ruixiang suppressed you for so many years; it really wasted your talent.”
Fan Xiao was good at pretending to be a big-tailed wolf, and now he looked every inch an elite professional. Yet while he spoke, his gaze crossed Xue Bao Tian and looked at the man behind him, sizing Yan Ye up from head to toe as though watching a show.
Yan Ye met his gaze openly. Although his eyes were gentle, they were also heavy. Fan Xiao’s shrewdness was carved into his bones, and with one glance he knew this man protecting Xue Bao Tian was not someone easy to provoke. He nodded lightly, which counted as greeting him first before the formal introduction.
Although Xue Bao Tian was rotten, he was rotten out in the open. When he dealt with people, he usually skimmed along the surface, vented his anger, and let it be. Fan Xiao’s heart was dark; he could be said to be so bad that his intestines and stomach were rotten through. He generally did not make a move, but if he spent any thought on someone, that person was bound to die miserably.
Back when he had no power, Xue Bao Tian had once planned to rely on Fan Xiao to open the international market for pharmaceuticals, and therefore had played his lackey thoroughly. Xue Bao Tian knew Fan Xiao’s nature very well, and thinking of his own cowardly appearance back then, how could he possibly have any pleasant expression now?
He took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, cupped his hand to block the wind, and lit it.
The scent of tobacco mingled with the fragrance of flowers. He smiled and said, “Any industry might have one or two rat droppings mixed in. Seeing General Manager Fan here isn’t that surprising.”
Fan Xiao had been cursed, yet his smile did not disappear. “The Crown Prince used to be much more polite.”
Xue Bao Tian exhaled smoke into the mottled tree shadows. “You said it yourself. That was before. Now just endure it.” He smacked his lips, somewhat regretful. “Director You is good in every way; it’s just that his eyesight is a little poor. He picks up all kinds of trash and brings it home.”
“What did I pick up?” A low, warm voice came from far to near. Looking toward the voice, they saw someone part the flowers and brush aside the willows as he approached—tall and straight, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, wearing the most ordinary shirt and trousers into the most graceful and carefree lines.
Xue Bao Tian very rarely smiled sincerely, but now a genuine smile truly rose in his cold, sharp eyes as he greeted the newcomer. “Long time no see, Director You.”
You Shu Lang was exactly as his name suggested, a person like a clear wind and bright moon after rain. When Xue Bao Tian’s father had been defrauded and Xue Bao Tian fell from the clouds into the mud, he had been the first to extend a helping hand, lending one of his old houses to the homeless Xue Bao Tian.
In truth, if one really calculated it, You Shu Lang and Xue Bao Tian did not share an especially deep friendship. The reason Xue Bao Tian had received his help was simply that he had benefited from You Shu Lang’s character of “if I can help, I’ll lend a hand.”
You Shu Lang always made people feel as though they were bathed in spring wind when he interacted with them. After greeting Xue Bao Tian, he naturally would not neglect the unfamiliar face standing behind him.
“And this is?”
Ever since You Shu Lang had approached, Fan Xiao’s gaze had been fixed on him. Only now did he echo, “I’d like to know too.”
Xue Bao Tian looked past Fan Xiao and introduced him to You Shu Lang. “General Manager of Yanyue Security, Yan Ye.”
Then he turned his head and introduced them the other way. “This is the person in charge of Changling Pharmaceuticals, You Shu Lang. Yan Ye, just follow me and call him Director You.” After saying that, he glanced at Fan Xiao and brushed past him in passing. “This is Fan Xiao, Thai.”
“Chinese, raised in Thailand.” Fan Xiao once again played the big-tailed wolf, politely shaking hands with Yan Ye as he added, “Shu Lang and I are lovers.”
Yan Ye did not show the slightest surprise. Although he had never stepped into the room Xue Bao Tian had borrowed, he had once stood for a long time at the door. With his professional habits, everything his gaze could touch had been carefully noted. In the group photo on the shelf, the two figures leaning against each other were the two people before him now. But even if he had not seen that photo, the way their auras fit together and the way they looked at each other likewise could not conceal the intimacy of their relationship.
Yan Ye suddenly felt a little envious of this kind of intimacy that could be laid out beneath the sunlight and spoken of openly.
When men met, greetings and courtesies were unavoidable. Aside from his extremely strong attack power in combat, Yan Ye was usually gentle and easygoing, but people like this, who rarely revealed their true nature, also made it impossible for others to guess their thoughts. Fan Xiao was also extremely good at pretending to be human, humble, proper, and measured in his conduct. The two men spoke with fitting words, coming and going, each handling that set of mature male social skills with practiced ease.
Xue Bao Tian, however, was not mature. He pulled You Shu Lang aside and whispered bad things about Fan Xiao, advising You Shu Lang to keep a close eye on his man at all times and not let that scumbag come back from the dead.
Fan Xiao overheard part of it and cut off the topic. “Crown Prince, a word in private? Let’s talk cooperation. My elder brother has some status in Thailand’s pharmaceutical field. If Ruixiang wants to make an effort in imported health products, I do have some channels.”
Xue Bao Tian bit his cigarette and pondered for a moment. The smile on his face suddenly turned flattering. “General Manager Fan is someone with great ability. Little brother relied on you back then, and now I still have to rely on you.” He took out a cigarette and handed it over. “Come on, let’s talk.”
The two of them instantly became intimate, only short of hooking arms over each other’s shoulders. After walking to another patch of shade beneath the trees, Fan Xiao accepted the cigarette, lowered his head, and lit it. The first thing he asked was, “So the Crown Prince has bent?”
Xue Bao Tian clicked his tongue and perfunctorily replied, “Something like that.”
“The last time I saw you, you were still spending lavishly on a woman from a nightclub.”
Xue Bao Tian glanced at him. “Where’s the serious business?”
Fan Xiao acted as if he had not heard him. “The kid looks pretty young. There isn’t even a line on his face. Where did you trick him from?” Very quickly, he denied himself. “The Crown Prince has a straightforward temper, but that kid doesn’t look simple. It’s not certain who tricked whom.”
Xue Bao Tian’s eyes turned sharp. “Stop fucking calling him a kid. Are you taking advantage of me? If we’re talking about tricking people, who could compare to you, General Manager Fan? Director You is kindhearted and really knows how to pick up good trash. Otherwise, with three trash bins, you’d have to choose at least one.”
No matter what he was like behind people’s backs, in front of others, Fan Xiao had always been flattered and praised. Now that he had been insulted head-on, he also gained the spirit to grind his teeth. “Crown Prince, you’re the pot calling the kettle black. If the things you did in the past leaked out, that kid might run.”
Xue Bao Tian smiled disdainfully and blew a smoke ring into the air. “Even if I fucking killed someone, he’d help me bury the body.” He grew impatient. “Do you have any serious business or not? If not, I’m not fucking standing here chattering with you.”
“I do.” The smile in Fan Xiao’s eyes faded, replaced by a cold, gray haze. “Do you know Tongjiang Pharmaceuticals? It isn’t large, with fewer than fifty branches in Xingcheng. They’ve delayed paying me for medicine for nearly ten months. Before I even lost my temper, that boss actually wanted to swallow my payment and make me suffer in silence.”
Fan Xiao flicked away the cigarette butt, lowered his brow bone, and smiled. “If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. Since he doesn’t know whether he lives or dies and has dared to move against me, then I’ll give him a lesson that will keep him from ever turning over again in this lifetime.”
He looked at Xue Bao Tian. “Set up a trap and swallow him. Crown Prince, are you interested?”
Xue Bao Tian raised a brow, pondered for a moment, and asked, “The benefits?”
“The fifty stores go to you, helping you open the southern market. I’ll supply the goods to the pharmacies, and the profits will be calculated normally.” Fan Xiao looked at You Shu Lang not far away and lowered his voice even further. “In addition, from now on, whenever Ruihua opens a store in the south, I want the right of first supply. Crown Prince, how about it?”
Xue Bao Tian considered it for a moment and had just been about to respond when he heard a low, decisive voice. “No.”
Turning his head, he saw that it was Yan Ye.
There was no longer any gentle expression on the man’s face. His whole body emitted a low-pressure chill. “General Manager Fan, in the future, don’t involve Ruihua in such risky matters.”
Fan Xiao gave a soft laugh. “Wealth and honor have always been sought amid danger.” He glanced sideways at Xue Bao Tian. “Crown Prince, you’re letting a kid make decisions for you?”
Yan Ye’s tone was not sharp, but Xue Bao Tian knew he was already angry. Yan Ye with hidden anger was the most dangerous. Xue Bao Tian had no choice but to be wary. Wanting to coax him, he pretended to scold, “What fucking kid? He’s an ancestor.”
Waving his hand, Xue Bao Tian walked toward Yan Ye and continued currying favor. “Since my family’s ancestor has spoken, from now on, don’t involve Ruihua in wicked, smoke-belching matters.”
Though he said this, he made an OK gesture behind his back.
Fan Xiao pulled up the corner of his mouth and cooperated with the act. “Crown Prince, even if business doesn’t work out, affection remains. Meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign place, shall we listen to a concert together tomorrow night?”
A concert? Xue Bao Tian’s steps paused. The two illiterates looked at each other and fell silent together. “…”
Just as he was about to find an excuse to refuse, Xue Bao Tian saw You Shu Lang come over holding two tickets. “Fan Xiao and I both bought tickets at the same time, so we happen to have two extra. If Vice President Xue and General Manager Yan are free, we can go together.”
Xue Bao Tian looked at Yan Ye. Yan Ye, the illiterate, avoided his gaze.
Facing a friend who had extended help when he was in difficulty, Xue Bao Tian swallowed. “…All right.”
Five minutes later, the two of them stood by a bustling street waiting for a car. Yan Ye looked straight ahead and suddenly said in a low voice, “Aren’t you curious how I heard your conversation with Fan Xiao?”
He looked at the person beside him, whose eyes had turned strange. “Xue Bao Tian, if I want to, I can control all of your private movements. So, doing that thing where you repair the plank road openly and secretly cross the… whatever it is, that kind of thing is best not done.”
Author’s Notes:
Xue Bao Tian: Uh… didn’t understand.
Futile Devices Scans 
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